SES’s senior management have been on a series of financial road shows these past few days and the results are now emerging in the form of advice to clients from equity analysts at the investment banks.

One, Macquarie , in a very bullish report, says that last year’s addition of speciality satellite operator O3b fully into the SES family – as well as the purchase of Israeli-based RR Media – means that this year SES will deliver “above peer” growth of some 8 per cent. However, the note also warns that growth in SES’s all-important video growth will be flat despite the addition of a couple of new satellites.

“A new long-term deal with Canal+ will likely improve video  growth and allay fears the customer was going to cut transmission costs. We expect RR Media to contribute roughly €166 million but add little growth to the segment,” added the bank’s note, which set a target share price of $21.

Analysts at Citi Bank take a more optimistic view in terms of SES’s share price, and rating the satellite operator as a ‘Buy’ and with a target price of €25.25.

Their note to clients says that 2016 was a “trough” year, and they expect a pick-up in growth from 2017 onwards. The growth will come from a combination of satellite launches, the ramping up of revenues from O3b and “solid performance” from MX1/RR Media.

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